Tomlinson: Chargers need to ramp up their running game

BAGSHOT, England – Fearing a season and a career slipping away, LaDainian Tomlinson on Thursday outlined a fairly simple solution to much of what is bogging down the Chargers.

Tomlinson wants to run the ball more, wants the Chargers to get that identity back.

And so the erstwhile face of the franchise, which has most often been sullen of late, this week met with coach Norv Turner and voiced that desire, as well as assuring him he is ready to be a bigger part of the offense.

“I wanted to see what he was thinking,” Tomlinson said. “Maybe he was thinking, 'His toe is still hurting.' I had to let him know the toe is not an issue anymore. That is not an excuse for me any more. If we can get in a rhythm, if holes are there, we're going to make yards. It's not an issue any more.”

While those holes have not been consistently available to the man who has led the NFL in rushing the past two seasons, Tomlinson and the Chargers' offensive linemen believe they can be if given the chance.

Said Tomlinson: “I don't want to say you can't be successful not running the ball, but it's really not realistic. Most good teams run the football.”

Tomlinson carried just 14 times for 41 yards Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, and his 123 carries are the fewest through seven games in his eight-year career.

With the Chargers at 3-4 entering Sunday's game against the Saints in London, Tomlinson said he could not keep quiet any longer.

Four days after holding his head in his hands for almost a half-hour following the Chargers' loss at Buffalo and then offering a “No comment” regarding the offensive philosophy, Tomlinson bared forth.

Yesterday, in the chill and drizzle outside the team's hotel here, the former league MVP explained his concern.

He is 29 years old, is headed to the Hall of Fame, and does not want to be remembered as something like the best player to never win a championship.

“It would be horrible,” he said. “It would be different if you could say, 'He didn't have the team to do it,' but we have the team to get it done. I don't want people later on talking about all the talent the Chargers had and they couldn't get it done. That would (stink).”

Tomlinson has said he will walk away, at the latest, when his contract is up after the 2011 season. He knows all the pieces around him won't be here even that long. His window of opportunity is closing, perhaps more quickly than anticipated.

“That's something I think about a lot – how many more opportunities I have,” Tomlinson said. “If you take this season and throw it away, it's like, 'Damn, how many more opportunities are you going to get?' It worries me.”